Author Archives: robertmtaylor

Lisa is my inspiration for knowledge management

Since I first found her many years ago now I haven’t let Lisa out of my sight – she’s my inspiration for knowledge management. Okay, I have to confess Lisa isn’t a person, she’s the personification of an idea and a mnemonic that easily reminds me of what I need to act on. She standsContinueContinue reading “Lisa is my inspiration for knowledge management”

The corporate off site (stop making sense)

I’m a tail-end baby boomer so I wuz brung up on these corporate off site meetings. But I’d say that for more than a decade they’ve been bothering me more and more. And because they are sort of ingrained in me this is really against type for me – but irresistible now.There’s quite a formulaContinueContinue reading “The corporate off site (stop making sense)”

Here to help, IKEA?

Another customer service story. Another poor customer service story. Now, usually I’m fairly impressed with IKEA. They’ve understood a lot about the customer journey, about a good experience, and they’ve improved their service offer over the years. So I’m doubly upset to see them fail. And it’s the same old failure we so often seeContinueContinue reading “Here to help, IKEA?”

So what, then, is “knowledge”?

And so back to the eternal question. It still seems, as it always has these 25 past years, to many people, to be the place to start. “What is knowledge?” I’ve been asked this many times at an early meeting with a new client. And I have many answers and many evasions because I don’tContinueContinue reading “So what, then, is “knowledge”?”

Ben and Jerry’s, the scales and authenticity

I like Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. I like the image. I remember an advert for Ben and Jerry’s that went a bit like this. They were making some ice cream with pecans in (sounds nice). They were getting a bit concerned that they needed to weigh out the pecans properly and so off theyContinueContinue reading “Ben and Jerry’s, the scales and authenticity”

Hurrah! It’s National Customer Service Week!

  A fine start to National Customer Service Week.  An aerial company I had booked to do some work at home called 20 mins before I expected them to turn up to say they wouldn’t come but would “book you in for tomorrow”. Oh no you won’t! The dentist receptionist fumbled to find the GDCContinueContinue reading “Hurrah! It’s National Customer Service Week!”

Working hard

I struggle all my life with this working hard thing! It’s one of my themes. As a knowledge person I believe more in working smart than working hard, but the hard work ethic is there under the skin from my background and I can’t ignore it. My employer is a work hard company – 100%! -ContinueContinue reading “Working hard”

To be knowledge managers we need to understand the real nature of knowledge

What really is knowledge? … and what is it like? … how does it behave and what are its properties? First and foremost knowledge is the effect of experience, information and reflection on our minds. It’s the overall impression left by layer upon layer of incidents and ideas processes by the mind, as is written overContinueContinue reading “To be knowledge managers we need to understand the real nature of knowledge”

Is ‘knowledge work’ work?

I find that people are still troubled by the idea of ‘knowledge work’. They’re probably even more troubled by the rather narrower idea of ‘knowledge management work’.  Is knowledge management really ‘work’ or a distraction from work? What I’m talking about here are those tasks that are required to make knowledge management work. Whether thatContinueContinue reading “Is ‘knowledge work’ work?”

First have a good purpose

I think one place where a lot of organisations struggle with corporate social responsibility is … well, they fall at the first hurdle, really. You have to have a good purpose. There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding around what constitutes a corporate mission.  Some have got it taped, but some really quite otherwiseContinueContinue reading “First have a good purpose”